Monique
Monique Darling prefers to keep to herself, mostly because she’s the only person she really cares about. Big attitudes come in small packages, though, and The Trendsetter won’t let anybody mess with her. Biography The only daughter of a successful modern art painter and mystery author, Monique is used to getting what she wants, when she wants it. She lives in a lavishly decorated flat on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and has always admired the fashions displayed in the windows of the shops below her bedroom window. When she was younger, she used to go into the stores with her mother and put on a fashion show in the dressing rooms, trying on the most extravagant garments in the store. When her mother offered to buy them for her, though, Monique always declined. She liked the clothes, but there was always just something that she didn’t like about them. She knew that she could dress better than the mannequins in the window, but she just couldn’t find the right items to complete an outfit. At that moment, Monique asked her mother for a sewing machine and she began perfecting the art of designing and creating her own clothing. Monique’s simple but chic designs began appearing on various fashion blogs while she was walking out and about, and eventually she began to accept commissions, putting more and more of her work out there. Eventually, she gathered enough fans to start an independent business, The Darling Collection, and she is able to make a steady profit from the clothing she sells. Monique always makes sure to keep the best items of clothing for herself, however, as in the end she is the one who really matters. Monique hopes that appearing on Total Drama Island: For Your Entertainment will attract international attention to her designs. This will get her more customers, eventually letting her small, self-run business expand to something much bigger. During For Your Entertainment... When Chris whispered to the camera in ...Fifteen Minutes of Fame, Monique exited the bus and assumed that he was conspiring with the staff. Chris introduced her, and she said everybody would soon know her name, which the host thought was stuck up. Monique had the first interview of the challenge, though the designer had to wait impatiently for Tina Blanks. When the supermodel returned, Monique gave a bit of her backstory. Tina was unimpressed, as she thought she was too short to enter the fashion industry. They argued until Tina threatened to give her a makeover, which frightened Monique. The audience ended Monique's interview early, and the trendsetter stomped off stage, saying in the confessional that she was humiliated and feared that she would be sent home first. Monique made a shower schedule to avoid bathroom conflicts in The Bachelor Isn't Interested. She snapped at Zack when she saw him tampering with the shower. When Elena had a fit over not having enough time to do her hair, Monique stood her ground but eventually said she'd change it. Sebastian offered her his time, asking why the trendsetter let Elena get her way. Monique said she didn't want any enemies yet and then noticed the card in his hand, which he hid. At breakfast, Victor accidentally flung eggs at Monique, who hit Gabe in the process of shouting at the actor. Monique did not hit her target in the challenge and didn't want to try to impress Chris. She and Minerva left to find a bathroom as their teammates prepared, where Monique carefully inspected her makeup. When they spotted Camille sneaking around, Minerva tried to hide, though Monique claimed they had nothing to worry about. They both screamed when the ditz snuck up on them and asked if they'd seen her lipstick, to which Monique gave Minerva a "told you so" expression. Robert commented that Monique looked miserable the morning of Video Killed the Reality Star, and she revealed that Elena had locked her out of their room and Allison and Avery's fighting had kept her up all night. Robert gave her extra toast and a contagious grin, which cheered her up a bit. Monique volunteered to do her team's styling for the music video. She briefly fought with Gabe when he refused to change his clothes. While filming, Monique manned the CD player, and she witnessed Minerva's breakdown. After The Emmys' surprise loss, Monique met with Victor and Sebastian, who she was aligned with. She blocked out Victor's whining, and when Sebastian clarified that they would eliminate Zack that night, Monique said she had Minerva voting with them. She then pointed out that they still didn't have the majority vote. Minerva and Monique had searched for Risty in Safest Catch, though the athlete was locked in her room. When Chris told the cast to change into their bathing suits, Monique commented in the confessional that she wanted to go in the pool, not in the freezing rain, and that she would have quit if not for the money. The designer noticed that Wes was uncomfortable with water while waiting at the docks. On the boat, she helped guide the fish hook and was confused at the contents of the crates. Monique and Minerva saw Gabe trying to get onto the boat, though they thought it was funny that he was in the water and left when he looked for help. When Gabe and Elena argued during practice in Sing Your Heart Out, Monique interrupted and handed them their lines. Gabe was outraged that he only had one line, which the trendsetter said was because he couldn't sing. She was in charge of the CD player and whined when Gabe missed his cue that he shouldn't get a line. When Monique got to her lyrics, Elena thought she was insulting her and flipped out. In the confessional, the designer said she was surrounded by idiots and wanted Elena and Gabe to be sent home. When Wes lost his voice, Monique explained that Chef gave them an extra hour of practice. Monique then found Donna and told her to get a better hiding spot, sending her off with Wes. Risty and Monique made snide comments while Elena and Gabe fought again, though they were silenced by a particularly cruel insult from Gabe. When Camille was arrested, Monique asked what she was doing when she and Minerva had caught her snooping around. Monique was horrified at her lunch in We All Fall Down. She teasingly bumped Risty's chair when she saw her chaperoning Minerva and Gabe's attempt at peace. When Minerva ran the obstacle course, Monique shouted at her for missing a platform. Despite her criticism of her friend, the trendsetter was eliminated in the first round. Monique protested when Gabe called Elena a loser, as she also had been eliminated, though she also told Elena to shut up. When Wes was angry that Sebastian had cheated, she gave him a vaguely sympathetic hit on the back. After the challenge, Monique, Victor, and Sebastian planned to vote off Elena. When the upset socialite entered, Monique assumed that her hair extensions were ruined. After she shared her sob story, Monique and Victor fell for it and changed their votes to Gabe, eliminating him despite Elena's story being fake. When Elena couldn't read the map in Fire Insults at Will, Monique snatched it from her. Monique paired up with Wes in the challenge, and they sat in what they thought was a safe spot talking. She called Sebastian "Colonel Arrogant" and said she wanted Elena to step in quicksand. When Allison shot at them, the pair of Emmys ran, though Monique turned around because she'd left her gun and got shot in the hip. When Elena was voted off at the Team's Choice Awards, Monique pointed out the she screwed up every challenge. Minerva invited Monique and Paul to represent their teams for her blog in Teeth, as she thought they had neutral opinions. Monique answered that Sebastian would be their team's leader, Ophelia did the least for the team, and that she was the hottest person on The Emmys. When asked about hook-ups, Monique went on a rant that her team was full of hormonal teenagers. Minerva and Paul interrupted her when she started getting too detailed, and Monique said in the confessional that she says what she means. Monique made breakfast with Risty the next morning, and when Victor and Ophelia showed that they were together, she claimed she was always right. Monique was a vampire in the challenge, and she had to cross a narrow pole between two high towers to get to her prey. She commented several more times in the confessional about hormonal teenagers. She was irritated when she found that her prey, Isaac, had been sleeping while she had put so much effort into crossing the gap. He teased her that he wanted a hot vampire, and she slapped him, biting him on the hand. Instead of using the fake fangs, though, she actually bit him. In the second half of the challenge, Monique hid with Minerva, who complained about Avery manhandling her. Monique lectured her that when she gets bullied she should fight back, pointing out that what happened with Elena could easily happen again. They were then caught by Allison, which frustrated the designer. In Flashing Lights, Monique invited herself to Minerva's all-night blog special. Monique teased Risty about getting caught by Cara in the last challenge, and Risty threw food at her. When Wes said he'd forgotten about Sebastian in the last challenge, Monique said the gambler was involved in everything. Wes thought Sebastian hated him, but the designer said he was hard to dislike. When Donna showed up and explained that Ophelia had locked her out, Monique refused to let her stay in her room. When Wes told Donna she could sleep in his room, Monique and Minerva laughed at the implications of the statement. Monique loved the red carpet challenge, saying she wanted to be first on the carpet so her pictures would be alone. She said she'd made her dress, advertising her website to the fans. Monique was very comfortable with Ramzi, who told her the fans felt that they didn't know her. The trendsetter listed who she liked and disliked, though she only really cared about herself. When Minerva showed up excited about meeting Chavez Milton, Monique and Ramzi were unimpressed. Ramzi told the girls that Minerva's blog was popular with the fans, and Monique thought it was because of her. She said in the confessional she wanted to be a cohost and proudly showed the camera an "I Hate Hormonal Teenagers" shirt that a fan had given her. At the press conference, a reporter revealed that Monique had little screen time. She was shocked but still refused to change her behavior. When Ramzi went to the microphone, he and Monique exchanged a wave. Sebastian revealed to the crowd that his alliance had been broken, and Monique glared, as he hadn't told her. When Minerva stumbled over what to say when called a puppet, Monique tried to speak for her, but the loudmouth told her not to. When Cara and Isaac kissed, Monique made a comment about hormonal teenagers, but admitted she was a bit jealous. Minerva volunteered, and the two girls kissed to the audience's delight. Monique said in the confessional that she had just earned her place in the fans' hearts. Monique was furious with Sebastian in Thirteen, confronting him about breaking their alliance without telling her. He said she and Victor had stopped being useful, which is why they had voted him off. After saying she was not to be messed with, she explained that she'd planned to use the alliance to make up for her weakness in challenges, but now she had to rely on her reputation alone. She made a crack about Donna, but Sebastian called Minerva her girlfriend, hitting a nerve and making her leave. When Minerva was being dragged underground by zombies, Monique, Wes, and Risty tried to pull her back, but the zombies overtook them. Monique screamed, but Risty dragged through the mud to get away from another horde. Monique was then pulled into a tree by zombies. Wes and Risty tried to save her, but an undead Zack bit her on the neck. Later, a zombified Monique cornered Risty, but the athlete noticed that she was wearing a different outfit than what she died in, exposing her as a fake. Monique was exhausted in All I Want is Revenge and tried to push past Chef when he blocked her path, though he easily held her back. When the contestants picked new rooms, Monique tried to claim one and make Risty and Minerva fight over who would be her roommate. Risty wanted to pick fairly, and Monique deserved a good roommate after dealing with Elena. Out of fear of Allison, Monique and Risty played "Nose Goes" and abandoned Minerva. The next morning, Monique pretended to be sympathetic to Wes and was disgusted at Allison's stuffed cat. While her teammates played soccer, Monique was an obnoxious spectator, yelling at Minerva despite not understanding what was happening on the field. Monique's guest for the challenge was her best friend Sandra, who wanted payback for the trendsetter pushing her around. During the first part of the challenge, Monique revealed that she didn't have a driver's license, and Sandra sabotaged her go-kart to run only in reverse. In the labyrinth, Monique insulted Minerva for her dragging her hand along the right walls, shocked when Minerva found her guest first. Monique offered to help when Lauren started bullying Minerva, though the loudmouth told her not to. When Monique found Sandra, they got into a fight, which ended with the designer knocking her friend out. She dragged Sandra's body behind her as she searched for the exit, using Minerva's right wall method. Monique managed to overtake Sebastian and finish the challenge in second place. After the challenge, Wes asked Monique for advice. He revealed that he thought Donna had rejected him, but Monique realized it was the opposite. When Wes was stopped by Melody, Monique told him she'd "deal with her," though the scene cut before showing what exactly she did. She then saw Wes and Donna kissing in the woods, overhearing that they were secretly dating. At the second secret reveal, Allison passed on the prize of a cruise to Monique, who chose Minerva to go with her. They left immediately, and Sandra revealed that Monique was bisexual but not interested in the loudmouth. Monique was immune at the elimination that night, which she wasn't present for. In Wolf in Teen's Clothing, Monique was relaxing on her cruise, though she noticed that Minerva was acting oddly. She told Minerva about Wes and Donna, demanding that she not tell anybody. Monique realized why she was acting strangely and told Minerva that she was bisexual, using the loudmouth's reaction to accuse her of having a crush on her. When Minerva admitted to it, Monique claimed that they wouldn't work in the "real world" and that she only loved her as a friend. They hugged, and Monique furthered her point that they wouldn't work in the confessional. When Monique and Minerva returned to The Hotel, nobody was waiting to greet them. They searched for Risty, though the athlete's belongings were gone. Monique found Wes and Donna, who revealed that Risty had been eliminated the previous night. During the challenge, Monique and Minerva hunted for clues together, though the designer ended up giving up because she usually did badly in challenges. Monique said she felt like a terrible friend for not being there for Risty. She denied Minerva's claim that she'd ruined the cruise, and the designer gave the loudmouth another lecture about standing up for herself. When the contestants found Aloysius Bandervilt's grave, Monique enjoyed sitting on the side and not helping to dig. Audition Tape The video began by showing a thick crowd of people milling about a snow-covered sidewalk. To the camera’s left was a busy street, and to the right was the display window of a store. The camera handler was elbowed several times by passersby before she eventually headed for the front entrance of the store. “Ugh, come on Monique.” The camera girl sighed, a puff of vapor visible in the chilly air. Somebody talking on a cellphone elbowed the camera, and the handler just barely caught it before it hit the ground. “If she doesn’t come out right this minute, I swear I’m gonna-” “Sandra!” A short-haired girl waved at the camera when she pushed open the front door of the store, shopping bags hanging from both arms. Rather than greet her friend, she immediately entered the crowd of people on the sidewalk. “Come on, let’s go!” The camera holder, Sandra, groaned but followed her friend, who maneuvered easily through the pedestrians despite her tiny height. When Sandra met her pace, the dark-skinned girl grinned. “I just had to grab a few of the skirts from the display in the window because they would be perfect with an angled hem. I got distracted by a shirt that I can't wait to take a needle to, so I grabbed one of those too.” “Monique, can we just get on with this?” “Oh, right. Hello, I’m Monique Darling. I’m the designer of The Darling Collection, a name that you probably don’t recognize now but will soon see at Fashion Weeks around the world.” A gust of wind blew at Monique’s face, so she cinched a belt around her waist to keep her coat closed. “I designed this coat myself. I’m sure you could tell I’m into fashion by seeing me. Just look at these bundled up slobs on the sidewalk, and then look at me.” The camera gave her a once over. “Perfection!” “Could you talk a little faster?” Sandra asked, her teeth chattering. “It’s freezing out here!” “Ugh, so impatient.” Monique rolled her eyes. “I’m not exactly great at physical challenges, but I think I’d be great for your show because I don’t take crap from anybody. Forget romance and friendships, I’m only worried about number one: me! I’m not exactly a Heather, since I have way more class than that, but there’s a reason the show’s not called Total Friendship Island. You want drama? I’ll give you drama and look good while doing it.” Monique gave the camera one more stunning grin before giving Sandra a thumbs up, a sign that it was fine to end the video. Trivia *In the first version of the story, Monique was named Lydia. She was a British girl from London with a much softer personality. For a while I had turned her into a sweet New York-based designer named Angela, though the creation of Angel made me change her name again. The new personality came with the name change, as the old character was too boring. *Eric is also from New York City, but while Monique is from Manhattan, Eric is from The Bronx. *Monique is the shortest contestant overall, even with her heels on. *Monique's hair was originally an asymettrical bob, but I ended up cutting her hair even shorter with her final redesign, as the old style seemed a bit outdated. *Monique's outfits are difficult to come up with because they need to be unique enough for her to have designed herself, but ended up being a lot of fun to draw. *As revealed in All I Want is Revenge, Monique is bisexual. This makes her the second character revealed to not be heterosexual, the other being Minerva. *Monique is a character whose personality I wasn't quite sure about until a few episodes into the competition. I knew I wanted her to have a personality that balanced out with Minerva's, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to make her a confident diva or more of a sophisticated, quieter character. *At times, Monique tends to be a confessional queen, as she often complains in the confessional. In both Teeth and Flashing Lights, she appeared in the confessional three times, more than any other contestant has done. *Monique was meant to seem like a supporting character through the first half of the competition, slowly getting more important as the episodes go on. She was supposed to seem as though she was there only for her friendship with Minerva, but her role ends up extending beyond that. **The only other character that this really happens with is Wes, who Monique is coincidentally friends with. Gallery Monique- Alternate Outfit.png|Alternate Outfit Monique- Pajamas.png|Sleepwear Monique- Swimwear.png|Swimwear Monique- Flashing Lights.png|Red carpet outfit for Flashing Lights ﻿ Category:Characters Category:Females Category:Emmys Category:Contestants